Browsing Posts published in July, 2010

Alex Knight, a writer, teacher and social activist based in Philadelphia, recently asked me to republish the first two parts of an interview he did with Michael Carriere regarding his construct of what he callsThe End of Capitalism. While it is not my desire to re-publish other works of original content by writers other than myself, I made an exception in this case as Alex Knight’s writings on the subject are not only articulate, concise and well-constructed, they are also of grave concern to me (and hopefully everyone) as the Imperialist and exploitative system of Capitalism/Corporatism has been plundering the natural and human resources of the earth for far too long. Mr. Knight’s words are needed more than ever right now, and so is our call to action to stand up to the moneyed interests that control our democratic process and alienate us from our own interests and each other. I re-published the first part of Alex’s interview on my other site, The Pigeon Post, which you canfind here. So here is part two (a) of Alex Knight on The End of Capitalism:

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The following exchange between Michael Carriere and Alex Knight occurred via email, July 2010. Alex Knight was questioned about the End of Capitalism Theory, which states that the global capitalist system is breaking down due to ecological and social limits to growth and that a paradigm shift toward a non-capitalist future is underway. This is the second part of a four-part interview.

Part 2A. Capitalism and Ecological Limits

MC: Capitalism has faced many moments of crisis over time. Is there something different about the present crisis? What makes the end of capitalism a possibility now?

AK: This is such an important question, and it’s vital to think and talk about the crisis in this way, with a view toward history. It’s not immediately obvious why this crisis began and why, two years later, it’s not getting better. Making sense of this is challenging. Especially since knowledge of economics has become so enclosed within academic and professional channels where it’s off-limits to the majority of the population. Even progressive intellectuals, who aim to translate and explain the crisis to regular folks, too often fall into the trap of accepting elite explanations as the starting point and then injecting their politics around the edges. This is why there is such an abundance of essays and videos analyzing “credit default swaps”, “collateralized debt obligations,” etc., as if this crisis is about nothing more than greedy speculators overstepping their bounds. continue reading…

As the old Buddhist parable goes: Nothing is Permanent. That would indeed be a wonderful thing as the permanence of dissonance, from ourselves and from the world around us, would be a frightening scenario if such a thing existed through eternity and all forms manifested within. As I struggle to grasp and cling to the life of stability and the facade of happiness — with varying degrees of success and outlook — I travel back to a time where there was absolute and permanent understanding of the universe and my place in that universe. Though, like perceptions of happiness, this understanding — this epiphany — would merely be a facade as well. Yet there is still much to be gained from our conceptualizations and schema of life constructed deep within our minds, be they facade or not. It is our own dissemination of such facades, not prevailing culture at large, that ultimately determines the world we see before our eyes. Through war, poverty, environmental devastation and corrupt systems of societal control; our world is tainted and distorted as we lose grasp of our places and the actions that may one day ameliorate an end to that suffering, for the concept of all life being suffering is not permanent nor absolute, but is merely a limitation of conceptual continuity and thought.

The World of Devas

The Devas are around us — be they particles and atoms that surround and consume us or any other energy that escapes our sights. In the traditional Buddhist construction, the Devas are but merely a little more advanced than us humans. Awaiting passage to new forms of lives or just existing in the fringes of this world, the devas are in part a diva as we know it, though without the ability for adornment and praise. continue reading…

As I am nearing the one month anniversary of the launch of my newventure into digital media,The Pigeon Post, I am constantly looking back to the path that led me to the current state of my professional, intellectual and creative undertakings. As I’ve been consumed with technical issues, business dealings, managerial duties and some severe writer’s block, my own site, the site that led to my current and future path and gave me an outlet for words and creations that had been lurking inside for so long, has suffered from those other pursuits — both in quality and quantity. If it wasn’t for those who gave me support and encouragement on this site over the past 6 months, I never would have had the confidence to pursue greater things in my creative and professional life — all ameliorating what will hopefully be the assimilation of information, presented in a rational dialectic, that reaches a broader market and inspires greater and deeper thoughts and actions rather than reactions, which is what many of us, regardless of ideological or political affiliation, have been programmed to do.

As the stressors of Corporate life (my own twisted Corporate life that is) gradually subside, I hope to add more insightful commentary and journalism on my own site as this is as much an extension of my life as anything is. Perhaps all of us tend to get bogged down by the limitations of our simplified construct of what we can achieve, rather than creating the path that we know we are meant to pursue. I am indeed on the right path for myself and am creating that path as I move along, both cautiously and with the reckless abandon of youth. My gift is my ability to tell the stories of those — and myself — who walk the path of the human condition through the lens of a rational and open-minded observation. The stories that we weave through our existence on earth, are what makes, shapes and defines History — no matter how insignificant or how great. continue reading…